Shifting
by Emmeline Springs
Summary: The Titans meet Brisa, a girl who can control air and wind. They take her in hesitantly. But what she hasn't and won't tell them is that she's being hunted, and that's why they found her...
1. Chapter 1

I looked down at the huge, bigfoot-like thing that was still trying to reach me. It grunted and groaned as it tried to grab me from my thirty-feet-above-ground standing point.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" I yelled.

I curled my hand in a fist. Suddenly, the air next to him made a fist and swung itself at him.

He fell over backwards and did not get up.

I walked back down to the ground, my long, dark brown hair falling behind me, almost to my ankles even in ponytail form.

"Whoa," I heard softly from behind me.

I turned around and there were five teenagers about my age standing there, aghast.

One seemed like she was some sort of depressed psychic, with her red gemstone on her forehead and her blue clothing and her uninterested expression.

The one next to her seemed exactly the opposite. She had fairly long red hair and bright green eyes and a rapt expression. Her clothes were colorful and stylish.

The one next to her had jet-black hair and a long, strong-looking cape with a mask on. I almost stopped at him, but I didn't.

The man next to him was obviously half-robot. One of his eyes was mechanical and bright red, but not menacing, but rather, a bright, energetic red. He was tall and robust.

And next to him as an adorable green puppy.

"Awww!" I said, running over to the little puppy. "It's so cute!"

Suddenly, in its spot was a green little elf-looking guy with a purple-and-black uniform type thing. I gave a small shriek and jumped back.

My momentary fear resided with awe. "Wow! You're the Teen Titans!"

"You have us at an advantage," said the psychic, her voice flat. "You know who we are, but we don't know you."

"Of course I know who you are!" I said excitedly, my eyes wide, practically jumping up and down. "You're _the_ Teen Titans! You're like, _legendary_ from where I came from!"

"And where is that?" asked the masked one.

My face froze before dropping into what could only be called a sad expression. "I… don't know."

The robot raised his non-mechanical eyebrow and said, "How do ya not know where ya came from, little lady?"

I raised my eyebrow right back at him. "_Little_? I'm really a _little_ lady?"

"Well, yeah," he said, both eyebrows raised now.

I smirked. "Right. Anyway, I'm Brisa."

"Yay!" said the one with the red hair, bouncing over to me. "Hello, new friend Brisa!"

I laughed. "Hello, new friend Starfire."

After she was done giving me some serious bruises from hugging me, Robin stepped forward.

"Don't," I said, putting my hand up in a 'stop' signal. "I know who all of you are. You're Robin," I said, pointing to him, "And you're Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy… where did he go?" The little green mutant had disappeared.

There was sudden _meow_ from my shoulder, which had just become heavier.

There was the most adorable green kitten on my shoulder.

I giggled and pet him. Then he jumped off my shoulder and onto the ground in front of me, turning back into himself, and going back in their Titan line.

"I'm right here!" he said brightly.

I laughed. "You're funny," I told him, still laughing.

"Really?" he asked, seemingly shocked. "Nobody's said that since Terra."

"Who's Terra?" I asked…


	2. Chapter 2

They all just stood there, glaring at Beast Boy.

"Guys, who's Terra?" I asked again, my eyes looking to each one individually for an answer and getting nothing.

"She was, um, a Titan," said Robin. "But she's dead."

I looked to Beast Boy. His head was hung as he realized I was looking at him.

"Really, that's all," he said finally.

I nodded, but I did not believe it.

"Anyway," said Cyborg, obviously trying to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere, "That was amazing, what you did. How did you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked, not knowing at first. Then I remembered that they had seen me in the air. "Oh, that was nothing."

"But _how_?" Cyborg pestered, seriously curious now.

I shrugged. "I control the air."

"Whoa, man, that's awesome!" he said, holding up his hand for a high five. "Gimme some!"

I smiled and raised my hand as if to give him one, but the air in front of him formed a bigger replica of my hand and did it for me. I laughed as he stumbled backward with his eye bugging out.

"Sorry," I said, making the air pat him gently on the back. "Couldn't resist."

"Little lady packs a big punch," he said, laughing.

"Dude, you totally got served," Beast Boy whispered to him.

Everybody laughed but Raven.

"So, new friend," said Starfire, grabbing my attention again, "Where is it you stay?"

"Oh, I stay in different places every night. I try to find somewhere over a big city at night, because that's where the air is warmest. I have a knapsack and some money back in the cave I was just staying in for the ni–"

"Unacceptable!" Starfire pouted. "You must have somewhere better to stay!"

"I'm fine, really," I told her, shocked that she would be so immediately hospitable. "I've got to be heading back, anyway. It's getting dark."

"You my come with us!" she said, oblivious to the rest of the team making stop signals behind her. All but Beast Boy, who still wouldn't look up.

"Uh, Starfire?" said Raven, floating to right beside her, getting her attention away from me. "That's not a good idea."

"Um, yeah," I said, nodding quickly to emphasize it. "I'm not really a 'people' sort of person… socialism isn't my strong point."

"Okay," said Starfire, slouching and touching her feet to the ground.

"Alright," I said, clapping my hands together and then rubbing them. "I gotta go."

As I turned around back towards my cave, I heard muttering behind me. As if all of them were discussing something.

"Terra would have liked it," I heard Starfire mumble.

All of a sudden, the huge bigfoot-thing jumped up at me from over the ledge. I screamed as its huge paw/hand swung at my chest and sent my flying backward.

I hit the ground with a low thud and I moaned as I landed on my back wrong. I tried to curl up into a ball but it hurt to badly; prayed that I would live long enough to…

It was then that I realized I had nothing to live for.

I opened my clamped eyes as I heard the beast wail in pain. I looked around and–there!

The monster was falling over the ledge again, and Cyborg was jumping after him with his blaster.

Even as amazing as the scene was, my eyes started to water and I closed them again, trying to roll over onto my good leg but lacking the leg strength to do so. I whimpered to myself quietly.

"Brisa?" said a worried voice. "Brisa, are you okay?"

"No," I gasped as my waist shot a bullet of pain up my spine. "My… back…"

"Got it," said the voice. "Your back. Um…"

"Help me!" I hissed weakly, my eyes flying open for just long enough to see Beast Boy over me.

"Totally," he said in return, my eyes already closed again. "Help, got it. RAVEN! Brisa needs…"

I did not hear the rest, because I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

Opening my eyes, I felt a sharp pain ride up my thigh. I stifled a moan.

"Brisa?" Beast Boy whispered. "Close your eyes. If they think you're awake, they'll not let you go to sleep again."

I obediently closed my eyes, not caring or having the energy to find out why.

"Beast Boy?" Robin's voice came floating towards me. I breathed deeply and evenly, trying to sell the whole she's-still-sleeping act. "Is she awake?"

"Nah," Beast Boy said. "We'll probably have to wait a while before she's ready to answer the questions."

Starfire's soprano voice huffed impatiently. "I still say that she may stay with us if she wishes," she declared loudly. This was met with groans and shouts of disapproval.

"Do you not remember Terra?" Cyborg's voice growled. "Do we want another person like that?"

"Brisa is an entirely different person than Terra."

"Brisa is also very close to being the same person. We found her battling a monster–"

"That she did not defeat on her own–"

"And she knew who we were and was enthusiastic 'bout it," Cyborg finished. "Man, she ain't staying. We can't take the risk."

"It is not Brisa's fault that Terra betrayed us!" Starfire argued back hotly. "How can we be sure that Brisa would do the same thing? She won't! I know she won't! She is our friend!"

"You said that about Terra too," Raven pointed out. "And in the end, she turned on us."

"In the end," Starfire whispered, "she died saving the city from a volcanic explosion."

Though I couldn't see it, the tension in the air was unmistakable. So, this Terra girl had betrayed them? Hm. Well, if they took me in, they'd have worse trouble than betrayal...

Robin sighed. "Okay, Star, I get your point. And as long as she's just visiting, there's no problem, right?" Though his voice sounded hopeful, that was only the thin outer layer. Lurking beneath those cheerful words were dangerous thoughts and skeptical trust...

"Yay!" Starfire cheered loudly, oblivious to the fact that I was still 'sleeping'.

"Shh, Star, you'll wake her up," Robin said quietly.

"You can wake up now," Beast Boy whispered in my ear. His breath was warm on my neck and sent the hair on the back of it tingling.

I opened my eyes and yawned loudly, ignoring the throbbing in my back as I did so. I looked around me. The walls were an industrial white and the carpet was a school-room gray. All around me were machines that bleeped with my heart, machines that looked like I'd smash them if I touched them, machines that were way too high-tech for me to understand. I was lying on a soft mattress on white bed with rails on the sides. A hospital bed. It was surprisingly comfortable.

About ten feet from me, sitting in chairs around a round table, were Robin, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg. Starfire and Robin, facing away from me, were looking over their shoulders to see if I was awake. Cyborg and Raven saw me; Cyborg looked as though he didn't want to. Right next to me was Beast Boy, sitting in a stiff wooden chair.

"Wha–?" I asked, pretending to be confused.

"Brisa!" Starfire sounded relieved. "Good, you are awake! Let us ask you a few questions."


	4. Chapter 4

_I felt like I was on fire. My blood was flaming, the blue-white fire licking at my bones, burning me from the inside out._

"_You can't get away from me," said the man. His head was a spidery mass of hair and eyes, and his voice was annoyingly calm. "I'll get what I want, little wind, and I'll get it now."_

"_No," I choked out. "No, no, no..."_

_He chuckled. "You think you can stop me?" he laughed. "Good luck with that, little wind."_

_Though I was livid, I was also in pain. How could he speak like this? It's one thing to turn down the creepy spider-headed freak, but another entirely to have him bite you and send you into poisoned agony. The venom, his venom, ran through me, burning, killing..._

"_Brisa!"_

_The voice filled me with more fear than the pain did._ No, McKenna, Go, leave, get out of here! _I warned telepathically. But she didn't hear me. My throat was too dry to speak. She'd never hear me in time._

_"Brisa! Get away from her, freak!"_

_"Hm," he said. "I must have left two by mistake. I could have sworn you were the last one I let live."_

_"No," I squeezed out of my compressed and swelling throat. Spots were forming before my eyes. Let me see, I begged the spots, Let me see._

_"Leave her–"_

_There was no mistaking the almost blue hair that swept into my limited sight. The black-haired beauty. The only one of my friends left._

_Her voice subsided and I felt her scream more than I heard it. Apparently, he wasn't going to torture her, like he was going to torture me. A quick death._

_My limbs began jerking about wildly._

_Suddenly, the venom inside me turned icy cold, a new pain, different from the fire. This one hurt so much more._

_Someone's warm hand touched my arm. At that point, I couldn't see. My vision was black. Why, then, was I not relieved of this pain through death? Why couldn't I die already?_

_Teeth, human teeth, just barely touched where he had bitten me._

_McKenna was going to suck out the venom._

_I tried to tell her no._ The hole in her tooth, the hole in her tooth, _I thought frantically. The poison will go straight to her head..._

_Tiny bit by tiny bit, the poison left me. The intense ice that had flowed through me now subsided reluctantly into McKenna, its new host and victim. My body lay still, trying to recover from the overtake of the near-death experience._

_McKenna jerked once beside me. My vision returned to me and I watched as her gorgeous, innocent, protective face twitched uncontrollably until finally, she lay still._

_"McKenna," I sobbed. The tears felt odd in my throat after the burning dryness. My body's watery reaction to my aloneness sent a wave of comfortable warmth through my now-relaxed body. I curled up beside the corpse. "McKenna."_

My first reaction was to sit bolt upright in the bed, but my spine wouldn't allow it. Instead, my cold sweat had soaked the sheets and my arms flailed crazily, smacking the bed iron hard enough to give me bruises. The air around whirled about like a tornado. Papers and small machinery went flying around the room.

"Brisa!" Beast Boy's frantic voice shouted through the wind. "Calm down!" He grabbed my hand. "I'm here, I'm right here, it's okay!"

The wind ceased abruptly, making the small object land and break. Beast Boy's hand did not loosen.

"What's wrong?" he asked me. "What is it?"

_I should not be thinking of that, I should not be thinking of that..._


	5. Chapter 5

What was wrong with me? Was I intentionally trying to cause myself pain? Was I a masochist? Why was I hurting myself so badly?

"Brisa," Beast Boy insisted. "What's wrong?"

"Ah..." I couldn't think of what to say. "Bad dream."

"I don't believe you."

"I can tell."

"Will you tell me what's really the matter?" He was almost irresistible when he gave me that look. His lower lip protruding just a bit, looking at me from under his eyelids, his eyes still managing to look wide. A perfect puppy-dog face, except that he wasn't a puppy. Right now.

"I don't think so," I murmured, letting the pillow beneath my head cushion me as I twisted my neck to look away from him.

He was silent for a moment. "Who's McKenna?" he asked, his voice filled with fake innocence.

I grew stiff. It sent a spear of pain down my back (thankfully dulled by the pain meds the Titans had given me). I whipped my head around to glare at him. "How do you know her name?" I hissed. "What do you know? How _much_ do you know?"

"Um, I just heard you begin to cry in your sleep, and you said her name..." the innocence wasn't fake now. I was seriously freaking him out. He looked kind of nervous, all puppy-ness gone from his face. "I was just wondering..."

_Who _is_ McKenna?_ I thought to myself. I winced. _Who _was_ McKenna_, I corrected myself needlessly. The wince was more profound this time.

"Nobody," I said. "Just... a friend..."

"Okay."

His tone and face clearly suggested that it was not 'okay'. He looked like he was trying to fit puzzle pieces together and the lid was missing, so he had no idea what the puzzle was supposed to look like.

I felt like wincing again, but stopped myself.

The doors opened and Robin burst in. "What happened? Is everyone okay?" Starfire was right behind him, her face concerned.

"Fine," I answered, closing my eyes. Maybe if I went to sleep, they'd leave, like they did last time, after I answered their questions.

But the images that flashed behind my eyelids were much, much to terrifying to permit. So my eye opened again.

"She had a nightmare," Beast Boy said, explaining further. "Something with a McKenna, who she says is nobody."

Her name, her name. How many times would I my scar itch with recognition?

My hair, long as always, was draped across my stomach in a small heap. Almost five and a half feet of hair lay on my stomach. The weight was considerable. I raised my hand and pushed it to my side with sudden, unexplainable irritation.

The movement stretched the scar. I looked down to see it puckered and red, as if raw.

Beast Boy followed my gaze. "Did the monster hurt you?" he asked.

"Which monster?" I whispered in a voice so low he couldn't hear.

"What?" he asked, confused. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," I answered, looking away from my scar and pulled my long sleeves, which had been pushed up to my elbows, down to my wrists. "It's an old scar, is all."

"Does it have anything to do with McKenna?"

I glared at Beast Boy again. "That would be my business," I told him, my voice cold and cutting. "It's not like I'm a part of your team. You don't need to know every insignificant detail of my life before I bruised my spine and required your assistance. Or rather," I added, "Raven's assistance."

Robin chuckled and stepped farther into the room. I looked up. I'd all but forgotten he was here. He was smiling.

"Nice way to put it," he complimented me. God, but he was attractive. His jet-black hair, similar to McKenna's but glinting silver in the moonlight, not blue, was spiked back and slightly ruffled from sleep. His mask covered what I imagined to be beautiful, sparkling eyes, dancing with amusement. His lips were not full, but not thin, either, and the perfect mix of a pale pink and beige. His chin was angular, but also soft, as were his cheekbones. And he was completely human. His tight red top to his uniform portrayed his body strength powerfully and his long, powerful legs seemed that much stronger when enhanced – in appearance – by his green leggings. His cape draped becomingly from his shoulders to his knees.

Starfire's gaze followed my own and her eyes narrowed slightly. I quickly averted my eyes. "Thanks," I said.

Beast Boy was looking over me the way I'd looked over Robin. His eyes traced my clothes – really, just some jeans and a long-sleeved gray t-shirt under a white, short-sleeved one – and his eyes rested on my own. I felt self-conscious for the first time of my life. His eyes were very, very green, and very, very deep. My eyes must have seemed so plain and brown to him. I was so utterly normal.

I cursed silently to myself and looked away yet again. This time, Robin was looking at me that way. I felt the sudden, inappropriate urge to rip his mask off and see what color his eyes were. I resisted.

I turned my head to face the ceiling. Both boy's eyes still lingered on me; I could feel their gazes boring into me. Starfire cleared her throat.


	6. Chapter 6

"Should we not be leaving, if Brisa is fine?" Starfire said, her voice just barely tense.

Robin and Beast Boy dropped their gazes. "Sure," they both said at the same time. "I guess so."

It was silent for a moment after both of them had spoken the same exact words, and then I burst into laughter. They both joined in, but Starfire's hesitant laugh made us all stop. I sighed. So did Robin. So did Beast Boy.

"Come on, Beast Boy," Robin said. The threat in his voice was just barely concealed. "I'm sure that Brisa will last the night."

Not to be outdone, Beast Boy had to leave the room first. Starfire was quick to follow, with a flip of her hair. But Robin turned back just as the door was closing and waved.

My answering wave was just a little late, but I think he saw it.

I lay back on the pillow, staring straight up at the plain white ceiling. My heartbeat wouldn't slow down.

_Why do they both have to be so attractive?_ I wondered to myself. Maybe if Robin would take off his mask, then I wouldn't have such a problem. Maybe his eyes would be hideous. Maybe they would be revolting. Maybe that's why he hid them behind a mask.

I sighed. No, that couldn't be true. Even my heart set to going a pitty-pat when he looked at me. His gaze couldn't have been so intense if his eyes were hideous.

Maybe if Beast Boy would take off that Doom Patrol uniform, the one that stretched over his muscled torso and defined the shape of his strong legs, maybe it would be easier to be around him, if he was in plain clothes. But no, that wouldn't help.

I closed my own eyes. I drifted to sleep, and I dreamt of masks and green eyes, fangs and black R's on yellow circles.

"Thanks, Raven," I said gratefully. My back already felt ten times better. "You're magic."

She chuckled. "No kidding," she said sarcastically. I chuckled with her.

"You done?" came a voice. My heart sped up. I looked down at my feet.

"Yes," Raven called, rising. She looked down at me. "I'm going now, Brisa. My favorite bookstore just got in more gothic tragedies."

I nodded. "Alright then," I said.

She smiled – a kind of halfway, almost-smile – and flew toward the door. It opened as she drew near it.

Behind the door was Beast Boy, holding a poorly wrapped shape in his hands.

I turned away, looking out the window. The scene was beautiful. It was mid-October, and all of the leaves on the trees in the city were reds and oranges and browns, littering the streets and the lawns. The buildings glistened in the warm afternoon sun. The water reflected some of the tall skyscrapers, and the large glowing ball of fire was found next to the watery buildings. I sighed with envy. That would never be my home.

"Um, Brisa?"

Why wouldn't my heart calm down? Without looking at him, I responded, "Yes?"

"I, uh... kind of... made you something."

My curiosity aroused, I turned back to him, and he was standing just behind me on the couch. His eyes were appraising me with care. It made me slightly uncomfortable. I flushed a faint red. "What is it?" I asked him.

"Uh..." he seemed at a loss for words. He smiled tentatively, and then thrust the package into my hands.

I slowly and suspiciously opened the package. The paper fell about me feet while I stared at the object with wonder.

"Oh, Beast Boy," I whispered. "It's... it's... beyond expression."

"You like it?" How proud he sounded!

"Absolutely," I awarded him with a smile, a dazzling smile, my most brilliant smile.

Just then, the doors slid open again, and Robin stepped through. He caught sight of my face and his masked eyes narrowed when they saw Beast Boy. My smile faltered.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, Robin," I greeted kindly. I looked back down at the object in my hands, almost forgetting the two jealous boys in my wake in its beauty.

A wonderful sapphire hairpin was in my hands, glinting a black-ish, blue-ish shine. The design was of a butterfly. The design was simple, but the teeth of the comb/pin were encrusted with diamonds, as was the edge of the butterfly. It sent sparkling rainbows of light dancing about the room.

"What's that?" asked Robin, his voice a forced casual. I looked up.

"A present," I said, smiling a little, "from Beast Boy." I smiled up at the green boy again, who looked pleased but slightly uncomfortable and who kept stealing glances in Robin's direction.

Robin forced himself to smile. At the sight of his perfect, blindingly white teeth, my mind went spinning.

I hadn't noticed he had his hands behind his back, but he unclasped them and brought out a box, wrapped perfectly in bright blue paper, to present to me.

"For me?" I wondered. "What on earth can you two mean by giving me these things? Not that I don't love them," I added as an afterthought.

"Open it," Robin insisted. "I think you'll like it."

Hesitantly, I took the box into my hands. It was rather heavy. I gently peeled off the paper, which joined Beast Boy's on the floor.

"Oh my Lord," I whispered. "It's..."

"For you," Robin said. He smiled at me again, sending my heart running a marathon.

Beside the hair comb was a brilliant necklace. It was a silver chain necklace, inlaid with emeralds and rubies and topazes and aquamarines. "Do you like it?"

"Like it?" I was aware that my incredulous tone of voice could be misconstrued, but I was staring in awe at the necklace. "I love it! Both of your gifts are amazing!" I wasted no time in jumping to my feet and hugging them both tightly. Both of their arms tightened around my waist. It kind of ruined the moment, and I pulled away, blushing scarlet.

I picked up both of their gifts. "I'm going to put these to use," I declared, smiling my best smile at both of them. They were both smiling back.

I was about to exit the room when Robin called to me, "There's combat practice at three, if you want to."

I turned back. Both were staring at me from exactly the spot they'd been when I'd hugged them, just turned around to face me. "Sure," I said. "In which case, I'll save these for a special occasion."

Leaving no time for my words to sink in with either of them, I left the room.

I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, and then let it out with gusto. Why is it that whenever I'm around them, I feel all squishy inside and don't have control over my own mouth? I slapped my forehead.

There seemed to be a slight commotion from inside the room I just left. I heard it through the door. I locked it – so it wouldn't open – and then leaned my ear against it.

"Brisa liked my gift–"

"Who said you had the right to give her–"

"If she liked it, what's the–"

"Who said she liked it–"

"She did, and you–"

I pulled my ear away and giggled to myself. Two superheroes fighting over me! Who would have guessed?

"You ready, Brisa?" called Robin's voice from the alcove with the machine that would register my time. "It might get a bit rough."

"I'm ready," I shouted back.

"Here it comes!" he warned, his green-gloved hand raising and then falling on the big red button that started/stopped the course...


	8. Chapter 8

Six huge walls suddenly loomed into my vision, startling me. I flew into the air with surprise.

As soon as I was above the motion detector on the first wall, it began clanging open and close, with huge sharp edges. I narrowed my eyes in thought.

And my winds blew it down. It crashed to the ground with a huge _WHOOOSH_, and I saw the effectiveness of the blow-it-down method. But that was no fun, was it?

And so I lowered myself and blew holes through each of the walls as I went, flying through them. The walls collapsed as soon as I was behind them.

And then disk were flying at me.

But my winds would not let them anywhere near me. The disks hovered in the air, waiting for me to pass before they continued on their momentum-propelled journey. And then they blew up into smoke.

"Whoa," Cyborg's voice said, awe-filled, from above. I chuckled and went on.

A large hunk of scrap metal suddenly hovered in front of me.

I gasped and bit back my scream. Why did this always happen? I made it soar away.

I finished the course without knowing what I did. I landed at the end. Robin and Beast Boy and Cyborg all ran over to meet me, with Raven and Starfire trailing behind.

"What was that metal thing?" Cyborg asked me. "I didn't put that in the course."

"You're just jealous because she beat Terra's all-time record," Beast Boy bragged.

The atmosphere was suddenly very, very tense.

"Brisa?"

Starfire's tentative voice called to me from the doorway to my room, still closed.

I put down my book – leant to me by Raven – and went to the door to open it.

Her large green eyes stared at me innocently. "May we talk?" she asked, her soprano proper and shy.

"Sure," I said, slightly taken aback. Her tone suggested she had something to say, and it wasn't pleasant. "Come on in." I gestured to the inside of my room.

"Thanks you," she said, sailing into my room without a backwards glance. I looked around at the walls; they were painted to represent a starry night (the stars glowed in the dark) with ragged, mountainous hills in various dry colors of reds and browns and yellows. In the middle was a long, half-circle red couch. It was an earthier scene than I liked, but it was still cool.

She did not sit. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked as the door slid closed.

She was tracing something on the edge of the couch. I blushed as I realized what it was.

"Who gave this to you?" she asked, tearing her large eyes away from the necklace to almost glare at me.

I opened my mouth to tell her it was Robin, but thought better of it. She seemed to regard Robin as if he were some kind of her property, like he was hers and hers alone. How would she feel if I told her Robin gave it to me, and what would she do?

But the name was out before I could stop it. "Robin," I said truthfully. My face the color of a tomato – _why can't I control my mouth?_ – I pointed to the hairpin Beast Boy had gotten me. "Beast Boy got me that," I said, hoping to distract her.

She nodded slowly. "Hm." She paused.

And then whipped her head up to me, her eyes blazing with intensity. "You find Robin attractive, do you not?" she asked, the flames in her eyes daring to lick at me.

I shrugged, making it look very casual. "Well, I guess. Not really my type, though."

She seemed to relax. "Oh. So you do not like him… _that_ way?"

It would be lying if I said no. He made me smile, he made my heart pound, he made my head spin. But then, so did Beast Boy, but in a calmer, safer fashion.

"Not really," I said, my first true lie. "Why, are you two, like…" I twisted two of my fingers together to give an example of intimacy.

Starfire blushed becomingly. I realized with a jolt that I must look hideous when I blush. "Well..." she seemed to ponder it, and then nodded. "Yes, we are."

"Oh," I said, smiling in false relief. "Okay."

She seemed uncomfortable and at a loss for words. "Well, thank you for your sociable conversation. I shall be going now." She left with a little wave of her hand.

I sat down on the couch, sighed, and dropped my face into my hands. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

And then a large, deep, bass siren echoed through the tower, with flashing red lights dancing around the room. Panicked, I jumped to my feet...


	9. Chapter 9

The room seemed to pulse with the siren. I stood stock still in fright, not knowing what was going on.

There was a heavy pounding on my door. I gave a squeak, but sighed with relief when I heard Beast Boy's voice on the other side. "Brisa!" he shouted. "Come on!"

I opened the door and bolted out, only to run into his chest. His arms wrapped around me automatically to stop me from falling backwards. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I was breathless, having had the air knocked out of me. But not because of the impact. Because when he touched me, it felt like I was on fire. Every inch of my body made it difficult for me to respond because I wanted to stay right there in his arms. "Fine," I murmured.

The moment seemed to drag out forever while we both gathered our wits about us and tried to forget the tingling that was racing through our veins. At least, I hope it wasn't just me, because if it was I'm awfully embarrassed. Finally, though, he set me back on my feet and cleared his throat. He smiled awkwardly.

"What's that siren?" I blurted, trying to ease the tension. It just made it feel more awkward. My face turned the color of ketchup.

"It means there's trouble," he said. He smiled a bit wider, revealing his sharp canine teeth. "And it means you're coming with us to save the city."

"Really?" I couldn't hide my excitement. "I get to help you guys fight crime? Me?"

He laughed and grabbed my hand. My body lit on fire again, but this time he seemed to be unaware. "Yup," he said. "Come on!"

And then he was tugging me by my hand. It wasn't until then that I'd realized that I was holding hands with a famous superhero.

I smiled to myself. McKenna would have been so jealous, I thought to myself. But the thought sobered me considerably.

We burst into the tower's main room, where Robin had his back to us. Just the sight of him had my heart speeding up. But then my attention was drawn to the big screen and the huge image on it.

I felt all the blood drain from my face. I staggered back, releasing Beast Boy's hand, and fought to keep myself calm. _Not him, not him..._

"Fang?" Robin asked incredulously, the same time Beast Boy asked me, "Are you alright?"

I tried to nod, but I don't think I moved. My body was shaking violently. Robin, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire all turned to look at me. Robin's face was one of panicked concern; Starfire's one of unassuredness; Raven's one of slight interest (I know, weird, right?), and Cyborg's one of unsure wariness. Beast Boy's arms swept my feet out from under me and I thought my head was going to hit the floor but he caught me just in time. I felt so dizzy, like I couldn't get enough air. Though his touch sent prickles of heat through me, making me more alert, it was like I was walking through a dream. I was vaguely aware of being set on the couch and all of the faces leaning over me, but it was easy to tune them out. _Oh no, he followed me here, he followed me here…_

"Brisa?" Robin asked, sounding really freaked out, "What's wrong?"

"I..." I tried to breath deeply, but I couldn't do it. For once, my air wouldn't come.

"Brisa?" Robin prompted. "What is it?"

"McK..." the rest of the word seemed lodged in my throat. I just couldn't make the word come out. It was too powerful. Too, too powerful...


	10. Chapter 10

_The screams echoed in the night. I looked directly at him, daring him to come closer, to set the words tumbling off his tongue. He accepted the challenge. His right foot inched forward until he was advancing and the curse fell from his lips._

"_From this day forward, until you can accept who you are, you shall never be able to tell anyone else about your past," he whispered. "From this day forward, you will never be able to remember clearly those who loved you and who you loved without pain. They will be shards of glass that you will be forced to endure forever stuck inside of your mind, cutting and jagged and sharp."_

_This wasn't right. This wasn't the curse I expected. My eyes widened in terror, but my body was frozen._

_And then darkness whipped around my body, binding me to the ground, tying me to the curse..._

I knew in that moment that I had to tell them who I was. Cyborg would probably hate me.

Apparently, I had zoned out for a while, because Beast Boy was saying to Raven, "She just saw Fang on the screen and went all pale and froze and then started shaking. I wonder what Terra would have done."

The memories suddenly flew back at me.

_We all laughed at Terra's joke, each with our own octave. Coventina's high, McKenna's low, and Terra's voice almost matched mine. Her blond hair shook with her laughter._

"_So, what do you say we all go for pizza?" Tina suggested. "I hear Dominoes is good."_

"_Can't," McKenna said. "I'm going to Kitten's party."_

"_Is it a plus one?" Terra asked._

"_I don't know. But I'm sure she won't object to having more people there. Kitten's all about the big parties."_

"_Cool, I wanna come!" Tina said._

"_I'll come," I volunteered. "Kitten may be a snob, but her house is awesome."_

"_Add me," Terra said, putting her arm around my shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere without my sister."_

Stupid curse!

My lips wouldn't move. My eyes flickered wildly from face to face.

The image on the screen moved.

Robin turned back to look at it. "What do you want, Fang?" he hissed vehemently. "We're a bit busy here."

"I see that." His doubly timbre shook the tower. "Who's the newbie?" His voice clearly made it known that he knew who I was.

"You know her?" Robin asked, surprised. "How?" He turned back to look at me.

I was instantly furious. "This isn't their fight, Fang!" I screamed at the screen. All eyes were on me, but I didn't care. "Leave them alone! They haven't done anything!"

"What's going on?" Beast Boy insisted. "What fight? Brisa, please, tell us."

I opened my mouth to say I can't, but the words wouldn't get past my throat.

"Ah, Brisa," Fang said. "Ignorant girl. So naïve."

"Leave them alone!" I screamed, sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of the couch. I rose to my feet and advanced toward the screen. The Titans moved with me, utterly confused.

"You know I can't do that," Fang laughed evilly. I gritted my teeth.

"Please," I begged him, the fight suddenly gone from me. "Please. It's not their fault. I'll leave right now if I have to, but leave them alone, Fang."

"Now, wait a second," Robin interrupted. "Brisa's our friend, and we're not going to let her be threatened like that."

"Don't," I whispered to him. "You have no idea what you're getting into."

"You're right," he said. "But you are our friend, and nobody who stays in our house gets threatened."

"Please, I'm used to it," I whispered. "But you don't know what he can do."

"What can he do?"

"I..." I took a deep breath. "don't know," I lied.

"Liar," Fang laughed. "But then, if you told them the truth, you'd have to accept the curse."

The darkness stirred in my chest, wiggling with recognition...


	11. Chapter 11

I gritted my teeth in frustration. Why was he dropping so many hints? I'd already agreed to let him have me, to kill me. What more did he want? What more could I give? "This is not their fight, Fang," I whispered. Though I felt the anger, my voice came off as pleading. "They don't know anything. Leave them in peace."

Fang bent his huge, ugly head toward the screen further, and whispered back, though everyone could hear, "You know what I want, little technopath. And you'll give it to me."

And then it disconnected, and we were once again staring out the window.

All of the fight left my body. I crumbled to the floor, letting the soft carpet pillow me. I put my face in my hands and moaned.

Strong hands pulled my up to my feet. "What does he want?" Robin asked, his forehead creased with lines of worry. "We can give it to him, and if that'll make him leave you alone..."

I shook my head vehemently. "No!" I said, looking at tem wide-eyed. "You still don't get it, do you? My sister didn't say _anything_?" They all looked so confused that in anger I burst out, "But she's not even the one who's cursed!"

"Technopath?" Cyborg's voice was filled with awe-struck fear. All heads turned to him. "Did he call you a techopath?"

The darkness in my chest was leaping around at the word, waiting to consume me. "That's what he called me," I squeezed out as my throat constricted against the words.

"You're... you're a technopath?"

I opened my mouth to reply but suddenly, all the moisture in it was gone.

This was the moment.

The whole world changed, but everything stayed the same. All at once, it was as if I'd been looking at things all wrong; the only way to fix my problems was to face them, and the only way to make them worse was to run. All these years, I'd been running from myself – from my sister – trying to get away from who I really was, trying to squelch the part of my mind that could control technology. I'd been that way before the accident. Before Terra, McKenna, Coventina and I had been handed the powers we didn't want – and I'd been burdened with _two_. And the scene shifted so drastically, but yet didn't move; it was the way I saw it that had changed.

"Yes." The word came freely from my mouth. "I'm a technopath."

And the darkness poured out of my chest.

It wrapped around me, and for a moment I thought it was only going to get worse. But it evaporated, as water does, but much quicker; and then I felt lighter A burden had been lifted from my shoulders and I was free.

But not really. Not really free.

"What was that?" Beast Boy asked, coming to my side. His hand brushed mine, and my skin tingled.

"The curse." I shrugged. "So Terra really didn't tell you anything?"

Beast Boy's eyes grew wide as saucers. "Your sister is Terra?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Think about it," I insisted quietly. "When she met you, did she say..." I closed my eyes completely, mentally digging through every computer in the Titan's Tower but Cyborg, finally finding a diary of some sort. I memorized the words and opened my eyes. " 'I go wherever the wind takes me' "?

"Your wind?" Raven asked. "You took her to us?"

"Of course not," I said, my face falling. "She was following me. I tried to be a superhero, and usually I took down crazy guys, you know, from mental asylums? But every time she almost caught up with me, I would run." I shuddered. "I couldn't face her with what I was… I couldn't even face myself."

"What do you mean?" asked Beast Boy, his tone kind but behind it a burning curiosity.

And so I told them. Everything.


	12. Chapter 12

Why would nobody face me? They were all staring at something, or just into space. Starfire was glaring at the fridge, Raven had her eyes closed and was muttering incantations to help calm her down, Cyborg was fiddling with his arm for no reason, Beast Boy was staring into the space above my shoulder and Robin was facing out the window, so I couldn't see his reaction.

"So, that's pretty much it." I shifted my weight from my right foot to my left.

"So..." Robin's voice was like that of a burning man – probably because I was putting his team in danger. "Fang is trying to kill you? Just like he killed Terra and McKenna and Coventina...?"

"Yeah." I barked out a harsh, meaningless laugh. "Delightful, isn't it?"

Robin turned to face the room. Everyone looked at him and we were all taken aback. His face matched his voice. It was contorted and angry and all at the same time it was indecisive. Is mask covered his eyes, though, and for that I was grateful. I was positive that in his eyes was going to be an expression none of us could sympathize with. Maybe empathize, but not sympathize.

"I need to talk to you. Alone." His words had a cutting edge. They were directed at me. He sounded absolutely furious.

"Okay." I sounded braver than I felt.

Without another word he strode across the room and out the door, not looking back to see if I had followed him, sure that I had. His pace was fast and powered by rage.

I followed him as fast as I could. But when the door shut behind us he didn't stop. He kept walking. He took me up a flight of stairs and then through a long hallway.

He stopped right in front of the door and began pacing, wringing his hands behind his back. His outward signs of distress made me feel terrible. I'd done this to him. I'd almost killed his team.

"I'll go now, if you want," I said quietly, not knowing how hurt I sounded – or even felt. He looked up.

The rage was gone from his face. In its place was ultimate sadness. His hands stopped wringing and moved toward mine. His gloved hands grabbed mine.

"Brisa," he whispered. "If there was some way to let you stay that wouldn't... that could... that..."

"I get it," I said, this time hearing the hurt and trying to disguise it. "I'm used to being shunned. I'll just... go." I pulled my hands out of his.

"Wait." I'd turned around, and at his words I turned back.

His mask was off.

I gasped. His eyes were sparkling gray, filled with infinite grief and an emotion I hadn't come into contact with for years. I couldn't even tell what it was anymore. He stared at me, waiting for my response.

I squeak escaped my throat and I clamped a hand over my mouth. I felt my body begin to twitch the way it did when I was going to cry.

So I fled.

"Brisa!" Robin called after me. But my feet were moving of their own accord.

I was almost out the door when a hand grabbed my arm and made me stop. I glanced at Beast Boy, who looked pained in the extreme. "Let me go, I have to go," I begged, knowing that the tears weren't going to be held off much longer.

"Stay," Beast Boy begged. "Or let me come with you."

"No!" I yelled at him, tugging at my arm. He held strong. "You can't come! No one can come! I'm putting everyone in danger, just like I always have. Nobody wants me, they've never wanted me, it's better if I go–"

"Don't go!" he argued hotly. "Don't leave me, don't go!"

I was becoming frantic. "I have to go! Let me go!" I screamed, pulling harder and harder yet, feeling the warm liquid in my eyes almost spill over. I blinked back the tears; but one escaped and fell down my cheek.

His other hand lifted and brushed it off my face. "Don't cry," he whispered.

That was the beginning of the water works. I didn't want him to see this. Huge, rippling sobs broke out, tearing sounds coming from my chest as if it was being torn open. I yanked my arm free and hit the ground running.

He didn't follow.

As soon as I escaped the tower I bolted for the city, forgetting that my winds would have carried me, letting my feet do it instead. I raced to the edge of the island and then let my winds carry me to the outskirts of the bay, allowing the air to rush past me as I flew toward the large skyscrapers in the dark sky.

Cars drove in and out of traffic, people walked along the sidewalks, animals played. This was a great utopian city design. Everyone seemed happy.

Except myself, perched on the tallest building as I was. I glared down at the happy citizens, allowing the tears to rip me apart, inside and out.

"Hello, Brisa," whispered a voice I recognized all too much. "Glad to see you've come."

I almost screamed, but his hand covered my mouth. A forceful blow hit the back of my head, and I passed out.


End file.
